BUH-BYE: Disney to give Netflix the white-gloved Mickey middle finger in 2019.

Starting in 2019, Disney will operate its own paid video-streaming service. This news came about as Disney announced on Tuesday that it would acquire a majority stake in a video-streaming company called BAM Tech. (Following a 2016 stock purchase, Disney had previously owned a 33-percent stake in BAM Tech.)

Currently, Disney has an exclusive deal with Netflix for streaming its films and TV series; the deal began in 2012 and expanded last year. Terms for that deal, particularly its expiration date, were never publicly disclosed. It’s possible that the Netflix deal’s expiration will line up perfectly with the launch of what Disney describes as “the exclusive home in the US for subscription-video-on-demand viewing of the newest live-action and animated movies from Disney and Pixar.” This paid online service will also include a selection of classic Disney and Pixar content, along with “original movies, TV shows, short-form content, and other Disney-branded exclusives” made exclusively for the streaming service.

Disney already has two or three (more?) of its own streaming channels with original content, but given the breadth and depth of their library and production studios, they’ll probably do just fine with one more.

But then there’s this:

This announcement will bear fruit sooner for the Disney subsidiary ESPN, whose own dedicated sports-streaming service will launch in 2018. This as-yet-unnamed subscription service will deliver broadcasts from leagues like the NHL, MLB, and MLS (the NBA and NFL will not be included).

In the last couple of years, you can’t even give away ESPN for free.